Afternoon summary
- Professor Alexis Jay, the new chair of the child abuse inquiry, has announces changes to the way the inquiry operates to make it more manageable. But she insisted that she was not limiting its scope. (See 4.49pm.)
- Amber Rudd, the home secretary, has dismissed suggestions that she mislead a Commons home affairs committee about the events that led to the resignation of Dame Lowell Goddard, the previous inquiry chair. Goddard resigned in August after serious concerns were raised about her conduct, including an allegation that she had used racist language. But when Rudd gave evidence to the committee in September, she just said that Goddard stood down because she was lonely. In the Commons Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said this meant Rudd was open to “accusations of misleading the committee”. But Rudd said that Goddard strongly denied the allegations and that it would have been wrong for Rudd to have raised them with MPs. She said:
I was asked [at the select committee] why Dame Lowell had gone. Dame Lowell had not spoken to me about her reasons, so I relied on the letter she had sent to the committee. In her letter she said she was lonely and felt that she could not deliver and that was why she stepped down. Dame Lowell has strongly refuted the allegations about her, and the only way we could understand properly why she resigned would be to hear from Dame Lowell herself. To echo any further allegations that are now likely to be the subject of legal dispute would have been entirely inappropriate.
In response the Labour MP Lisa Nandy, who tabled the urgent question that led to Rudd addressing MPs, said Rudd’s explanation was unsatisfactory. Nandy said:
This inquiry was established to shine a spotlight on institutions characterized by a culture of secrecy, denial and cover-up in which child abusers were able to operate in plain sight without challenge or consequence. It is a tragedy that the inquiry itself has become dogged by complaints about the very problems it was designed to expose and that for survivors of abuse will be far too familiar. If it is to proceed with confidence the home secretary and the prime minister need to answer the very many questions over this inquiry starting with the truth surrounding the departure of Dame Lowell Goddard.
- A Conservative councillor has been suspended by his local party after starting a petition to make opposing Brexit into an act of treason. As the Press Association reports, Guildford councillor Christian Holliday’s petition for a change in the law to make supporting UK membership of the European Union a crime attracted more than 1,250 signatures within four days of being launched on the parliamentary website.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
Jay announces new approach to child abuse inquiry to make it manageable
Here is more from Professor Alexis Jay’s BBC interview about her review of how the child abuse inquiry operates. She has also put a summary statement on the inquiry’s website, and a full statement here (pdf).
Although she said she would not be reducing the scope of the inquiry, she has unveiled a new strategy designed to make it manageable. She said she hoped the inquiry would complete a “significant amount” of its work by the end of 2020.
The inquiry has been running 13 investigative strands, looking at child abuse within various institutions. In future it is going to focus more on four thematic strands. They are:
- Cultural - examining attitudes, behaviours and values within institutions.
- Structural - looking at the legislative, governance and organisational frameworks within and between institutions.
- Financial - considering the financial, funding and resource arrangements for institutions and services.
- Professional and political - focusing on leadership, professional and practice issues for those working or volunteering in relevant institutions.
Jay said a traditional public inquiry approach to the allegations would fail.
I believe that the concerns that our terms of reference cannot be delivered are founded on an assumption that we must seek to replicate a traditional public inquiry in respect of each of the thousands of institutions that fall within our remit. We will do so for some, but we would never finish if we did it for all.
Jay ordered a review of how the inquiry operates when she took over as chair in August. She said today her review was not yet complete, and that it would be finished by the end of November.
Today is about outlining the strategy I intend to pursue to make the inquiry manageable and deliverable in a specified timescale. If we were to pursue the traditional public hearing model that people associate with inquiries of this kind to the thousands and thousands of institutions in England and Wales, we would fail, so there’s no possibility that we can do that.
She said the four themes were “absolutely central to looking at institutions and their failings in the past, if any exist” and that the inquiry would be holding public hearings related to the four themes.
For example, we might ask certain council leaders or police and crime commissioners to account publicly for what they’ve done in relation to the subject of child sexual abuse within their areas of responsibility.
Asked if her announcement was reducing the scope and scale of the inquiry, she replied:
It’s certainly not reducing the terms of reference in the inquiry. We have no intention to propose that any aspect of the terms of reference is dropped. But we do intend to use different models and ways of working to deliver the terms of reference. In that respect we consider that we can complete a significant amount of the inquiry’s work by the end of 2020.
She said no decisions have been made about the 13 investigations. Asked if some of them could be cut, she said:
It really is impossible for me to say just now because it is quite a complex matter and we need to take the views of core participants and other relevant parties into account.
Professor Alexis Jay, the new chair of the child abuse inquiry, has told the BBC that she will not seek “any reduction or restriction” in its scope, the BBC reports.
No 10 says it was not involved in decision to shut down Russia Today's UK bank accounts
Two subjects dominated at the Downing Street afternoon lobby briefing. Asked about the involvement of UK troops in the push on Mosul, Theresa May’s official spokeswoman said:
With regard to the work that is ongoing with Iraqi forces, we are taking part in the coalition to counter Daesh and support the work of the Iraqi forces.
We have been involved in the training of the Iraqi forces to help prepare for the fight against Isis and support the efforts of the Iraqi government to take their country back from terrorists. We have UK personnel in Iraq involved in the training of Iraqi forces.
Downing Street also said the decision to shut down Russia Today’s UK bank accounts was “a matter for the bank to decide based on their own risk appetite”, and confirmed it was taken independently without consultation with the government.
Asked if the action was welcome as a move to restrict propaganda, the spokeswoman said: “The issue as I understand it relates to action taken by the bank, which is a matter for them. More broadly, we clearly want to make sure misinformation is not being spread.”
That’s it. The child abuse inquiry UQ is over.
I will post a summary shortly.
Labour’s Stephen Pound asks if Rudd agrees that former panel members should be encouraged to share all their concerns publicly.
Rudd says she thinks the inquiry is taking that approach. But it is for the inquiry.
Labour’s Chris Bryant says he has known too many abuse victims. If there is one thing they want, it is for the truth to come out. If ever faced with a choice between letting things come out, and covering things up, will she always go for letting the truth out.
Rudd says she agrees.
Maria Caulfield, a Conservative, asks if the inquiry has the resources it needs.
Rudd says the Home Office is managing this carefully. The inquiry will be properly funded, she says.
Labour’s David Hanson asks Rudd if she has discussed with Theresa May, her predecessor what due diligence was undertaken to check Dame Lowell Goddard. And when will the interim report come out?
Rudd says she hopes an interim report comes out around March or April next year, before the end of the financial year.
Labour’s John Mann says this could become a lawyers’ bunfest. Laywers will be taking money to act at the inquiry, while simultaneously suing public bodies, she says.
Rudd says the Home Office will make sure the budgets are properly challenged every year.
Labour’s Paul Flynn says MPs should admit that the inquiry was set up as a political bolt-hole. Isn’t it time to admit that it would be better to reconfigure the way it operates.
Rudd says she does not accept it was set up for political reasons. She says the new chair has said she hopes to conclude it by 2020.
Labour’s Yvette Cooper asks if the accountability mechanisms in the inquiry are strong enough.
Rudd says she is giving the reply to the UQ herself partly because she wants to assure people on this point.
Lucy Allan, a Conservative, asks if child abuse victims will still be able to engage with it.
Rudd says this is possible under the truth project, one of the strands of the inquiry.
The SNP’s spokesman, Stuart C McDonald, asks if Rudd knew about the misconduct allegations against Goddard when she told the home affairs committee that Goddard resigned because she was lonely. Wasn’t she misleading the committee? He says Rudd may have been “economical with what she knew”.
John Bercow, the Speaker, says this is close to saying Rudd was economic with the truth, ie lying. He says McDonald should be more careful with his language. MPs are not allowed to accuse each other of lying in the chamber.
Rudd says she knew about the allegations in July. But these allegations were denied. It would have been wrong for her to speculate about them in evidence to the committee.
Updated
Abbott says Rudd is open to the charge of misleading the home affairs committee
Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, says the inquiry is now on its fourth chair. No inquiry in recent times has been dogged by so much scandal.
She says Rudd said she relied on Goddard’s letter when she told the home affairs committee why Goddard resigned. But Abbott says Rudd should have asked directly. She says Rudd is open to the charge of misleading the committee.
- Abbott says Rudd is open to the charge of misleading the home affairs committee.
Does Rudd agree that it would be wrong to scale back the inquiry? That would be making survivors pay for the government’s failure.
Rudd is responding to Abbott. She says this is an independent inquiry.
She says Alexis Jay has a strong reputation in this area.
Tim Loughton, the acting chair of the home affairs committee, goes next.
Q: Does Rudd agree it would be helpful for Goddard to give evidence to it? And does she agree it is wrong for an inquiry to be self-regulating?
Rudd says the Home Office permanent secretary, and the new inquiry chair, Alexis Jay, are giving evidence to the home affairs committee tomorrow.
Rudd is responding to Nandy.
Rudd quotes from the resignation letter Goddard wrote. Goddard said at times her mission was “very lonely”.
She says it is not for the Home Office to determine the inquiry’s staffing.
She says she has asked Goddard to give evidence to the select committee.
At all times the Home Office has followed proper procedure, she says.
Lisa Nandy says she does not see how Rudd could have been unaware of the concerns about Goddard’s conduct.
Why did Goddard get a payoff of £80,000?
Misconduct is grounds for dismissal. Why was that not acted upon?
Will the Home Office get Goddard to give evidence to the home affairs committee?
Why did Ben Emmerson resign as the inquiry’s counsel?
Amber Rudd is responding to the UQ.
She says MPs will agree the work of the inquiry is vital.
Victims must have justice, and we must learn the lessons from the past.
She says it an independent inquiry, but the Home Office is the sponsor department.
Last year it had a budget of £17.9m but underspent by £3m.
Rudd says on 29th July the secretary of the inquiry raised concerns about Dame Lowell Goddard’s behaviour with the permanent secretary to the Home Office. On 4th August Goddard tendered her resignation.
Rudd addresses the claim she did not tell the home affairs committee the full story. She says when she answered questions on this, she was going on what Goddard said in her resignation letter. Goddard said she was lonely being away from New Zealand. Rudd says it would have been inappropriate to have commented on other factors.
Amber Rudd responds to urgent question on child sex abuse inquiry
Amber Rudd, the home secretary, is about to respond to an urgent question about the child sex abuse inquiry. The Labour MP Lisa Nandy is asking the question, prompted by revelations that came out last week about the concerns raised about Dame Lowell Goddard, who resigned as the inquiry’s chair over the summer.
Here is a Guardian story from Friday with some background.
And here is how it starts.
The Home Office admitted for the first time on Friday that concerns about the conduct and professionalism of Dame Lowell Goddard had been raised with it six days before she resigned as chair of the national public inquiry into child abuse.
Goddard had earlier branded the claims made in the Times, including the suggestion that she linked Britain’s child abuse problem to its population of Asian men, “totally false”.
In a statement, the Home Office said that concerns were raised about Goddard by people within the inquiry on 29 July. They were advised to take their worries up with the chair. Six days later, Goddard resigned.
The admission that there were issues of concern that led to the resignation raised questions about the evidence given by the home secretary, Amber Rudd, to MPs on the matter. Rudd told the home affairs select committee last month that Goddard had quit in August because she was lonely. She made no mention of her department being made aware of concerns about the conduct of the New Zealand judge.
Lunchtime summary
- Chocolate, cheese and wine are among the foods that will soar in price if the UK pursues a hard Brexit outside the single market, the former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has said. As Rowena Mason reports, the Liberal Democrat spokesman called for the UK to seek a relationship with the EU similar to that of Norway, as he painted a picture of economic disaster if hardline Brexiters get their way. Clegg said the scuffle between Unilever and Tesco during which Marmite and other food brands were briefly withdrawn from online sale at the supermarket was “just the tip of the iceberg”. Clegg was speaking as he published his third “Brexit challenge” paper, focusing on what Brexit might mean for the food and drink industry.
- May has announced a £40m initiative to prevent homelessness. Manchester, Newcastle and the London borough of Southwark are to be the first “homeless prevention trailblazer” areas in a £20m programme trialling innovative approaches to the problem, the Press Association reports. Local authorities will be able to bid for cash from a £10m grant fund for early intervention to help rough sleepers before their problems become entrenched. And a further £10m in social impact bond funding will provide personalised support to address the complex needs of long-term rough sleepers and get them into accommodation.
The UK is likely to negotiate a Canadian-style free trade deal with the EU, Spain’s foreign minister said today. Speaking at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said:
Forget the Norwegian model, forget the Swiss model because of the condition for the freedom of movement of people, and forget a Turkish-style customs union. If the British insist on having the option to restrain the free movement of European workers to the United Kingdom, the only solution is the Canadian one.
No 10 lobby briefing - Summary
Here are the key points from the Number 10 lobby briefing.
- Downing Street appeared to acknowledge ministers are split over Brexit by saying May wanted a proper debate in government. Asked about today’s stories (see 9.17am) revealing that colleagues have been briefing against Philip Hammond, the chancellor, the prime minister’s spokeswoman said:
The prime minister is pursuing a collective government approach where, either at cabinet or through cabinet committees, the relevant cabinet ministers involved are able to discuss and debate issues before decisions are reached. The prime minister is focused on making sure that we prepare for the negotiations and that we get the best deal for the United Kingdom. Ultimately we need to ensure that we are all working together to ensure that we make a success of Brexit.
There is a real sense among the ministerial team that the government has a very important job to do which is delivering the will of the British people on leaving the European Union and they are focused on working together to prepare for those negotiations.
The spokeswoman also said that she did not “recognise” some of the stories about cabinet splits in the papers over the weekend then. (That is normally code for saying that they might not be entirely wrong, but that they are exaggerated.) The spokeswoman also said May has “full confidence in the chancellor and the work he is doing”.
- Number 10 refused to deny a story in today’s Financial Times saying May is willing for the UK to carry on paying money to the EU after it leaves to secure single market access. Asked about the story, the spokeswoman said:
I have seen that speculation. It strikes me that that is what it is.
Monday's FT front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) October 16, 2016
Cabinet looks at paying billions to keep single-market access for City#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/UwdXJSmZSH
- The spokeswoman refused to deny a report that the cabinet will discuss building a third airport at Heathrow when it meets tomorrow. The decision on whether to build a new runway there is due this month. The spokesman would not say when the announcement would be made, other than “soon”, although reporters were left with the impression that it is more likely to be next week than this week.
- Downing Street came close to rejecting the Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s call for Scotland to be given power over immigration as part of the UK’s Brexit settlement. May would “need to be convinced” of the reasons why we should abandon the current system, where immigration is a matter reserved for Westminster, the spokeswoman said.
- The spokeswoman also suggested that May is not interested in any of the other proposals Sturgeon is planning to publish that would give Scotland special status in the Brexit settlement. Asked if May was open-minded to these ideas, the spokeswoman said Downing Street would have to look at the ideas. But she went on:
The prime minister is focused on how we can come together and work together to get the best deal for the UK.
- Downing Street refused to support a call from a Conservative councillor for supporting EU membership to be made a treasonable offence. Asked if May viewed support for the EU as treason, the spokeswoman said:
Different people will chose their words differently. The prime minister is very clear that the British people have made their decision.
- May is going to Manchester this afternoon for the Olympic and Paralympic parade.
- The spokeswoman signalled that May would raise the case of the “Chennai six”, the six British ex-servicemen who have been jailed for weapons offences they deny committing, when she meets the Indian prime minister on her visit to the country next month.
- The spokeswoman said that May remained a supporter of Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, despite Carney’s speech on Friday seen as critical of May. “The prime minister is clear in her support for Carney and the leadership he has shown in the past few months,” the spokeswoman said. Asked specifically about the speech, the spokeswoman said May “respects the independence of the Bank of England”.
Updated
I’m just back from the Number 10 lobby briefing. Downing Street is adopting a similar line on the Brexit cabinet infighting to Jeremy Hunt (see 9.17am); it’s admitting that ministers have different views. I will post a summary shortly.
In the meantime this is what the Lib Dem Treasury spokesman, Susan Kramer, is saying about this story.
You don’t have to be an accountant to realise the huge risks of ‘hard Brexit’ to jobs, wages and our economy.
Just because some members of the Cabinet wish to hurl us off the economic cliff doesn’t mean everyone else is under some obligation to act like lemmings. The real problem is, even if the chancellor has correctly identified the risks, he is not being listened to by the prime minister, who is more concerned with bowing to her own hard-right flank than doing what’s best for our economy and the lives of ordinary people.
At the high court Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, has hit out at people who have threatened the businesswoman challenging the legality of Theresa May’s strategy for Brexit, the Press Association reports.
At the start of the second day of the historic hearing, Lord Thomas said the court had been informed that Gina Miller, an investment fund manager and philanthropist, had received emails and “other communications”. He declared to the packed courtroom:
It is simply wholly wrong for people to be abusive of those who seek to come to the Queen’s courts.
And he warned that if “this conduct continues, those who do it must appreciate that the full vigour of the law” would be used.
I’m off to the Number 10 lobby briefing now. I will post again after 11.30am.
Fourteen migrant children are set to arrive in the UK as efforts to resettle youngsters from the Calais “Jungle” are stepped up before the camp is demolished, the Press Association reports.
The youngsters are understood to have left the port in Northern France this morning and will be reunited with relatives who are already in Britain.
After arriving, they will register with the Home Office in Croydon, south London.
Dozens more children are expected to arrive this week after a team of British officials were sent to Calais to help French authorities speed up the transfer of minors ahead of the dismantling of the Jungle.
The arrival of the group on Monday was welcomed by the charity Citizens UK, which said it has reunited 60 children from Calais with relatives in Britain since March.
Farage could remain as Ukip leader until 2017, says Ukip chaiman
Ukip’s national executive committee is meeting today to discuss the timetable for its leadership election. Paul Oakden, the Ukip chairman, was on the Today programme this morning discussing the situation and here are the key points he made.
- Oakden said Nigel Farage could remain as Ukip until 2017 because the party is no hurry to elect a successor. Farage is still currently leader because, although Diane James was elected to replace him in September, after her recent resignation it emerged that Farage was still technically registered as the party’s leader with the Electoral Commission. Oakden said the party did not want to rush the contest.
We are going to be taking our time. We are going to be doing it in a very calm and collected fashion to make sure that we get the right results. There is no need to rush. There isn’t any need to panic ourselves into getting a new leader into place quickly.
This meant the new leader might not be chosen until after Christmas, he said. The actual timetable is due to be settled later today.
- He said Ukip’s internal investigation into the fight that led to Steven Woolfe MEP, the leadership favourite, being hospitalised in Luxembourg would conclude before nominations closed.
- He said it was up to Woolfe to decide if he was well enough to stand.
That’s for Steven to say. We are all delighted that Steven is recovering, although, obviously, he is still feeling somewhat under the weather after what appears to have been a very serious medical incident. So, only he can say whether he is in full fitness and ready to fight a leadership campaign.
- Oakden said there was nothing to stop Suzanne Evans, the former Ukip deputy chair, standing in the election. In the last contest Evans was not allowed to stand because she was suspended.
On Twitter some journalists have leapt to Philip Hammond’s defence.
From the Telegraph’s James Kirkup
Hammond's colleagues complain he has "very Treasury approach" to Brexit. 1 That's his job. 2 This won't deter him. pic.twitter.com/uH8zPvDxny
— James Kirkup (@jameskirkup) October 17, 2016
Ministers criticise Hammond for asking abt economic impact of immigration curbs. I'd criticise him if he didn't. https://t.co/fcrQCxXTDj
— James Kirkup (@jameskirkup) October 17, 2016
From the Observer’s Nick Cohen
The Mail hysterics, the attacks on Hammond are the Tory right desperately trying to avoid responsibility for the chaos they have brought
— Nick Cohen (@NickCohen4) October 17, 2016
From the Guardian’s Michael White
Hammond reportedly resisting Three Brexiteers over migrant curbs. No genius required to decide which side is leaking: not Silent Phil
— MichaelWhite (@michaelwhite) October 17, 2016
From LBC’s James O’Brien
The fact that Philip Hammond is now being attacked for "arguing like an accountant seeing the risk of everything" seems to sum it all up.
— James O'Brien (@mrjamesob) October 17, 2016
The pound is still struggling this morning. My colleague Graeme Wearden has the details on his business live blog.
Theresa May’s government has only been in office for three months but already cabinet infighting has hit peak intensity on the “ferrets in a sack” scale. Amazingly, there was even a story yesterday (which was denied) claiming that Philip Hammond, the chancellor, was on the verge of resignation because he was so fed up.
The faultline is between those pushing for a hard version of Brexit (principally the so-called three Brexiteers, Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox) and the chancellor, who is urging caution. Today the Times and the Telegraph have both splashed with stories claiming Hammond has angered colleagues by expressing doubts about a plan to stop low-skilled EU migrants coming to the UK.
Monday's Times front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) October 16, 2016
Hammond clashes with Brexiteers on migrants#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/WnPOVPBSvd
Monday's Telegraph front page:
— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) October 16, 2016
Hammond in Cabinet Brexit row#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/Oep3E74oZo
Here is the Guardian’s account by Peter Walker.
And here is how it starts.
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has angered more pro-Brexit cabinet colleagues with his concerns over plans to swiftly restrict immigration from the EU, warning this could harm the economy, according to reports.
In a sign of apparent tensions within the cabinet over the balance between limiting immigration and keeping open access to the EU, unnamed cabinet sources briefed two newspapers about supposed worries over Hammond’s stance.
The chancellor is said to have used a meeting last week of Theresa May’s cabinet Brexit committee to urge caution about a plan to force EU workers to show they have a guaranteed skilled job before they are allowed into Britain ...
One unnamed cabinet source described Hammond as “overly influenced by his Treasury officials who think it is a catastrophe that Britain voted to leave the EU”,the Telegraph reported.
Another source told the paper: “He is arguing from a very Treasury point of view. He is arguing like an accountant seeing the risk of everything rather than the opportunity.”
This morning Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, was on the Today programme talking about maternity care and he got the chance. His response was ingenious (and not entirely wrong.) Cabinet ministers should be having vigorous arguments, he said. When it was put to him that this infighting was “not ideal”, Hunt replied.
On the contrary. If we weren’t having lively debates in cabinet, you would be saying “What’s happened to cabinet government, why aren’t you going through incredibly thoroughly all the different arguments to make sure we end up with the right decision?”
The British people changed the history of our country on the 23 June. The cabinet is absolutely united that we must respect that decision.
But we need to then go through, very thoroughly and carefully, all the different options because we’ve got to have a new immigration policy, a new trade policy, a new economic policy ....
Hunt also rejected the suggestion that Hammond was trying to undermine Brexit. When this was put to him, he replied.
This isn’t the first time in the history of government where you read reports in the newspapers that may not actually reflect what’s happened. All I would say is that you would expect lively debates to be happening in government because we are going to get the right solution in terms of securing our borders, but also the right solution economically.
Hunt is right to say ministers should be arguing through the policy options behind closed doors. That happens all the time in government. But what is significant about this row is that it has spilt out onto the front pages of the newspapers. When ministers start briefing against each other to the media, it becomes harder for them to act collectively when they do reach an agreed position.
I will be covering more developments on this as the day goes on.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, gives a speech setting out plans to make maternity units safer.
9.45am: The court hearing about whether the government is entitled to invoke article 50 starting the EU withdrawal process without a vote in parliament resumes.
10am: Nick Clegg, the former Lib Dem leader and former deputy prime minister, gives a speech on the impact of Brexit on the food and drink industry.
11am: Number 10 lobby briefing.
2.30pm: Damian Green, the work and pensions secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
4.30pm: MPs begin a debate in Westminster Hall on Brexit.
Afternoon: Ukip’s national executive committee meets to discuss the timetable for its leadership election.
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has angered more pro-Brexit cabinet colleagues with his concerns over plans to swiftly restrict immigration from the EU, warning this could harm the economy, according to reports.
As usual, I will be covering the breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I will post a summary at lunchtime and another in the afternoon.
If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
I try to monitor the comments BTL but normally I find it impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time. Alternatively you could post a question to me on Twitter.
